[Titlepage of Andreas Cellarius's 'Harmonia Macrocosmica'.]

F.H. v. Hoven ferc. [Amsterdam, Johannes Jannson, 1660.] Engraving. Sheet 225 x 270mm, 9 x 10˝". Cut down. Part of the allegorical titlepage to the only Dutch celestial atlas of the C17th, engraved by Frederik Hendrik van den Hove. The woman at the centre is Urania, the muse of astronomy, holding an armillary sphere and a ruler, mariner’s astrolabe and quadrant on the floor in front of her. On the left is the Dane Tycho Brahe (1546-1601), holding dividers against a celestial globe; on the right is the Polish astronomer Nicholas Copernicus (1473-1543) with a graphometer at his feet, pointing at an armillary sphere; behind left is Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria (fl. A.D. 150), behind right is Dane Johan Philip Lansberge (1561–1632); second right is Castilian king Alfonso el Sabio (‘the Wise’, 1221-1284). The figure behind Urania has not been identified conclusively: theories include the Islamic astronomer al-Battani (c.850-929), Julius Schiller (c.1580–1627), who created constellations with Christian themes (reproduced by Cellarius in the Harmonia) and Cellarius himslef.
[Ref: 13166] £380.00